I believe Rs 50 crore was spent on this. And so I wanted to watch it. And, I didn’t want to watch it in theaters - no way. So, I was lucky that Set Max shows it on a Sunday, and that too when I am at parents’ place, where I can watch it by bull-dozing my parents.
So, how was it. Initially, I wasn’t sure I could sit through the whole movie. The opulence was almost obscene though the havelis did look exquisite. The scene between D’s and P’s mom were extremely artificial and loud when they share the joy of D returning from London. A bit of sanity returned when the younger generation came on the sets and performed with more restrain and dignity. I really was getting embarrassed with Kiron Kher, and I have always thought her a very refined actress. But, credit to her that she carried this loudness too with conviction. Later, after she is hurt by D’s mother, she shows the restrain that becomes her well.
Why did I find the opulence distracting? I thought the movie would have got the returns it deserved if it hadn’t been for the extravagance. Most of the times, my eyes were riveted on the palaces and the costumes and jewellery (well, as a woman, that is easy to explain) and several nuances of acting and dialogues were lost. Will a simple Kolkata cotton saree have not sufficed for most of the parts? Will a bungalow not have conveyed the same status differences? Were floating pallos necessary in every scene that Ash ran - O was quite worried that someone following her may trip and fall.
Yes, the movie, contrary to what I had come to believe, was good to watch and actors and actresses did do justice to the roles given. Most of the songs are hummable, cinematography was good, dances were awe-inspiring... The positives are more than negatives. Even the slight twisting of the original script does not jar on you and seems entirely plausible. So, to that extent, I would rate it high.
But hype and hoopla put me off. And it did more in this movie since I do vaguely remember the earlier, humbler versions and feel that Bhansali remade Devdas to display such grandeur rather than to capture the tale in any new angle.
Well...I hope the actresses enjoyed wearing all those expensive and heavy saris...